The List

Aging

The first and most obvious cause of high blood pressure is simply getting older. It has nothing to do with diet or exercise, but is a natural process of life. This can also be put under the category of genetic predisposition, as our longevity is largely determined by our family tree.

Gender

In almost every country, women outlive men. This is simply a statistical fact and quite frankly there is not much we can do about it. High blood pressure is one of the leading contributors to heart disease, which is the number one cause of death in the world. There are a number of underlying causes for this fact, and no one particular reason has been identified. So men, be sure to keep your lifestyle active and your diet managed.

Stress

Ask any heart bypass patient and they will tell you the post-operation sensitivity their heart had when it comes to stress. After spending a week or more in a sedate environment and having their ticker patched up, there is a noticeable sensation in their chest of the smallest stressor. But after a few weeks their bodies adjust.

This speaks volumes about how our bodies adjust to stressful situations, and we are completely unaware of it. Stack and pack that stress over a period of time and you are asking for high blood pressure. They don’t call it hypertension for nothing.

Medications

The pills you take to treat one ailment may be causing another problem, high blood pressure, when regularly used. We are not talking here about prescription medications, though they can contribute to the problem. The difference between those and over the counter medications is that prescription medications are managed by a doctor – in many cases with periodic blood analysis. The simplest of drugs such as cold medications or allergy drugs can spike your blood pressure to unsafe levels.